Live updates: Follow the latest on Syria
Qatar announced on Wednesday that it would reopen its embassy in Damascus, which has been closed for over a decade after it revealed it had established a communication channel with Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, the group that led factions in the offensive to overthrow Bashar Al Assad's regime.
The country's government adviser and Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed Al Ansari, said that the embassy would be reopened “soon” to enhance “co-ordination with relevant parties and facilitate the delivery of aid”.
Qatar withdrew its ambassador from Syria at the start of the civil war in 2011 and closed its embassy after attacks on the compound. Throughout the conflict, Doha has consistently supported Syria's opposition.
Damascus fell to the rebels on Sunday, ending Syria's more than five-decade of Assad family rule. Rebel forces have kept the civil administration but to achieve stability they will need to fill the political vacuum and curb fragmentation along sectarian and ethnic lines.
On Tuesday, an official said Qatari diplomats have established a channel of communication with HTS to lead international discussions with the militant group.
HTS is made up mainly of groups from the extremist organisation Jabhat Al Nusra, which was linked to Al Qaeda. It broke those ties with Al Qaeda in 2016 and rebranded itself as Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, after a purge undertaken by the group's leader Ahmad Al Shara, formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed Al Jawlani.
The UN and countries including the US and Russia have designated HTS a terrorist organisation. Al Shara previously participated in an Iraqi insurgency against the US as a member of a group that eventually became ISIS. He then led the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda in 2011, in the early years of the civil war.
HTS played a significant role in the Syrian civil war and there are doubts over whether it has shed its Al Qaeda past and extreme ideologies.
During a meeting in Doha on Saturday, at which Qatari, Turkish, Iranian and Russian diplomats were representing the main countries backing different sides in Syria’s war, it was agreed that Qatar was best equipped to lead the contact with HTS, as it has not normalised relations with the Assad regime.
“Consensus was reached by all parties at Saturday’s meeting: the priority is to bring the situation in Syria under control and to ensure that extremist groups like Islamic State [ISIS] are not able to gain a foothold in Syria,” the official source said.
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Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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Rating: 3/5
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
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Specs
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Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
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The Byblos iftar in numbers
29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month
50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
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160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
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Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
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